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13-Oct-2008 --
This Confluence point is 150 miles from my home in Albuquerque. It’s much closer as the crow flies but because of the remoteness and limited roadways to the CP, it took a while to drive there. For the most part, the area surrounding the CP is range land. There are very few houses along the roadway.

You see entrances or gates but the houses are on ranches that probably have lots of acreage. As you get closer to the CP, you see mountain ranges in the far off distance with nothing in between you and the mountains but high desert prairie.

I could have gotten to within a mile or so of the CP but instead opted to leave my vehicle at the junction of highway 14 and the dirt road on the right, 5 miles or so south of the town of Claunch. This put the CP 3.0 miles away at a heading of 232 degrees true. The dirt road would take you closer to the CP. All you would have to do is follow it until 106W longitude zeroed out and then head south. The walk was fairly easy with plenty of cactus and pinion pine along with small scrub brush. The terrain is gently rolling hills with great views of the far off mountain ranges. Along the way to the CP I jumped two coyotes who sort of rambled off to the west.

Coyotes are much larger than most people think!

These two guys were the size of a German shepherd. I also saw three hawks, several Jack rabbits (I still can’t believe how big Jack rabbits get) and a few head of cattle. It took me about an hour and a half or so to get to the CP. Once there, I took the required pictures and stayed for a bit to enjoy the remoteness of the area.

Rather than heading straight back to the car, I decided to continue hiking straight north for 3 more miles crossing the dirt road that I previously mentioned. I jumped a few more Jack rabbits and saw an additional hawk but no more cattle. The walking was pretty much the same, rolling hills but with fewer cactus and scrub brush. On my way back to the car however, I did spook several Mule deer. They saw me long before I saw them though. By the time I saw them running from me, they were about a quarter mile away running off to my right. They settled down on top of a small hill where they continued watching me and the direction I was heading. They let me get to about a thousand feet or so from them before they took off again. What a magnificent animal.

This was a most enjoyable CP visit. The remoteness is outstanding. I didn’t come across any “no trespassing” signs. I’m sure it will continue to be like that so long as we take nothing and leave only our footsteps.